Rachel Galowich | 2017 | Interns

Rachel Galowich

Rachel Galowich (’18)

Chicago, IL

Jeffrey L. Pressman Intern

Civil Engineering Major

Build America Bureau

This summer I interned at the Build America Bureau within the Department of Transportation. The Bureau focuses on infrastructure financing, and primarily works with project sponsors interested in receiving federal support through the Transportation Infrastructure Financing and Innovation Act (TIFIA) and Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) loan programs. The office has a rapidly growing project pipeline, with over 50 projects in the initial engagement, project development, and creditworthiness stages. As part of my internship I synthesized project statistics included in the pipeline, and created a dashboard that could be presented to leadership within the Bureau, modal agencies, and Office of the Secretary. The Bureau is constantly looking for ways to extend financing opportunities to new types of project sponsors and types. I conducted background research to assess demand for potential new programs within the existing TIFIA and RRIF legislative framework. Finally, the Bureau also aims to educate project sponsors on innovative financing methods, including public private partnerships (P3s). I proposed a new design for the P3 section of the Bureau website, and gathered P3 project and policy information that could be built into searchable databases.